Early Bird Special
by HyenaHijack
Summary: She's the only girl he'll open early for. Breakfast is served! (Annie/Minori x Reager)
1. Chapter 1

The chime of the door opening caught Raeger's attention from cleaning the counter. His soft gaze was met with a youthful presence-a new face. He straightened himself and set the damp washcloth aside.

"Hello. Are you Raeger?"

The young lady gingerly walked towards the front counter, her baby blue eyes meeting his. Her blue eyes seemed to stand out in contrast to her dark truffle colored hair, which rested gently on her light skin. Raeger smiled and met her from the other side of the counter. "I am. What brings a beautiful face like yours into my little restaurant?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but her kindness still showed as she let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh, well, Eda has just said that I should say hi to everyone in town." Her blue eyes averted his now and were taking in the space of the building. "I just came back from visiting Maurice and his family at the Inn. They mentioned you and your restaurant, but they didn't say you were such a charmer," she smirked, returning her gaze to him with a twinkle of playfulness. This caught Raeger off-guard and he found himself feeling sheepish. He didn't expect her to be teasing him, and he didn't really think of himself as a charmer, per se.

"I-I like to think that I'm just incredibly nice," Raeger tried to play off his sudden embarrassment with a smile.

"Sure..." the brunette smiled, looking right through him. While he did like to compliment people and make them feel welcome and wanted, he did think that she was rather easy on the eyes. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but certainly not a mess as she clearly took care of herself. Her clothes looked rugged and dirty-granted she is a farmer, but it in no way detracted from her beauty. Raeger quickly caught on that he was staring at her round eyes, and cleared his throat, regaining his composer with a controlled smile. "Well _Miss Sassy Pants_ , what do they call you?"

"Anaise," her eyes shone brightly as she smiled warmly.

"That's a beautiful name," Raeger replied, his expression illuminated a bit.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You're unbelievable."

"No, I mean it!" He laughed a little, realizing that he probably sounded redundant by now. "I really do think it's a beautiful name. It reminds me of one of my favorite spices: anise." They smiled at each other for a few heartbeats before Raeger finally spoke again, breaking the silence. "Would you care to have anything to eat?"

"Oh, no, thank you. I should really get back to Eda's by now. She'll have dinner waiting for me soon. Next time?" Was that hopefulness in her tone?

"But of course!" She smiled once again and made her way towards the door. Raeger called out to her, "Feel free to stop by for some delicious eats!"

She turned her head to flash one last grin before leaving, "You better have something good waiting for me when I return. I'm counting on you!" And with that, the door's bell signaled Anaise's disappearance. Raeger let his shoulders relax and sighed. Wow, he had no idea that he was this stiff. He turned back to the kitchen counter that he was cleaning before and stared into the sink. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this way. He secretly wished they'd become close friends.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, here it is!"

Veronica opened to arms towards a heap of garbage. Anaise frowned, "Oh wow, thank you... It's very... I-it has a lot of character-that's for sure." Veronica turned towards her, looking completely unfazed by Anaise's current state of emotions.

"I know it's not much to look at, but once this land has been shown some love again, you should should be on your way to renovating your new house! Remember, just go to Gunther when you're ready." Anaise found herself forcing a smile before thanking Veronica and being left with her new property. Geez, there's a lot of work that needs to be done. Taking in a breath of courage she stepped into the house, the old door creaking as it closed behind her, sounding as if it might break any moment. It was snug, that's for sure, but at least Eda was kind enough to lend a bed and storage boxes. She really was a kind soul, Anaise would have to repay her soon for all that the old woman did for her. Anaise fell back on her little bed, taking in all of the change, only to her utter dismay at the sight in front of her. A _hole_?! A hole in _her_ roof?! "Oh well that's just great! I hope it doesn't rain anytime soon," she sighed, turning on her side. It felt good just to relax for a little bit to have time and think out her next plans. The very obvious one was to do something about the lack of ceiling. That was going to bother her all night-she just knew it. She'd have to clear out the boulders and trees on her land first, though.

Anaise's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her stomach calling out for help. Now that she doesn't have a dinner to come home to anymore, who knows when she'll have a kitchen. Well, there is a restaurant in town, and she did say that she'd visit sometime soon. She recalled her first visit with Raeger. He was definitely cute, but his smooth talking made her weary of his motives. Either way, a visit was in order.

Anaise picked herself up off the bed when a knock came from her door. She opened it, smiling when we she was greeted to Eda's kind-hearted face. "Hello, dearie! I thought I'd drop by and give you a housewarming gift," she handed the young girl a square basket. Inside lied a container full of soupy content.

"Oh you didn't have to go and do this for me!" Anaise smiled, comforted by the fact that Eda was still looking out for her even after she left. "I couldn't help myself," Eda chuckled, "Every new house deserves a gift."

She hugged the elderly women and thanked her. "Would you like to come in?"

"I would, but I'm plenty tired right now," Eda explained, her kind smile still present. "It's getting late, and you probably still need to get settled in." Anaise nodded in agreement and bid a farewell. Eda was right. It was time to start sprucing the place up!

Anaise wiped her brow with her forearm, letting out a breath. Chopping down trees is hard work. She looked up at the sky, not having realizing just how late it had gotten. Time seemed to escape her.

After putting her axe away, she sat down for a dinner that Eda so graciously gifted her. A visit to the restaurant will have to wait until another time.

 **Author's Note:** I apoligize for such short chapters, but I promise that they will be longer after this, with some more Raeger/Anaise interaction.


	3. Chapter 3

_Closed?!_

Anaise stared at the resturaunt in disbeleif. It wouldn't be open for another few hours. Her stomach growled angrily, and she sighed loudly. She should have been smarter and looked at the business's open times last time she was here. She looked around at the suprisingly quiet town, realizing that everyone was probably closed right now. _I feel like less of resident and more like a lost tourist..._ Anaise frowned, and ultimately took a seat at one of the outside tables. Going back to the farm would just be a waste of time, as the restaurant would probably open up the moment that she got home. Waiting for a meal seemed like the best decision, and hey, first come first served.

Only a few minutes had passed with Anaise twiddling her thumbs when she heard the door to the restaurant open. Confused and curious, she lifted her gaze to see Raeger, not wearing his cooking apron like usual, a container in one hand and a fishing rod in the other. Their eyes met and offered a drowsy smile, looking like he just rolled out of bed. "Hey, girlie. What are you doing here at this hour?"

"Oh, um..." Anaise grew embarrased, not particurally wanting to admit that she arrived way too early for breakfast, and made up an excuse on the spot. "Y'know, the early bird gets the worm and all..." she grinned crookidly, letting out a nervous giggle, "Just wanting to get a head start of the day."

Raeger didn't seem to take notice of her embarrasement, whether it was because it was too early in the morning or he just wasn't that observant-he just smiled. "Well, I'm off to get some more fish for the restaurant. It gets a little boring by myself, care to join me?"

Anaise felt a wave of releif wash over her and nodded, glad that he didn't find it weird of her for sitting at his tables at such an odd hour. She got up from the chair, and they both fell in step together on the way to the lake. There wasn't much conversation at first, which was partially her fault. This wasn't how she expected the day would turn out at all. She didn't even think that Raeger fished for his own produce. Anaise glanced sideways at the taller gentleman, looking at his face. He seemed content, not at all bothered by the silence between them, but his eyes looked smaller with sleepiness. "Do you not usually wake his early?" Anaise asked, her thoughts speaking outloud.

"No, I try not to, actually," Raeger responded, suddenly stiffling a yawn. "I don't like waking up so early, but my body is used to it, so it happens anyways. Even if I try to sleep in, I'll just be lying there wide awake anyways," Raeger laughed softly. He's quite cute when he's sleepy like this, she thought, smiling to herself.

"I must say, I'm a little jealous of you being all ready to go this early in the morning. You have to tell me your secret," Raeger glanced at her, smirking a little.

"Get a cow and you'll figure it out," Anaise smiled, watching the white butterflies flutter about in the grassy area they arrived in.

"Really? Do they moo you awake every morning?" Raeger grinned, setting down the container he carried onto the dock.

"No, but they will get cranky if you forget to tend to their needs. They're very dependant." Raeger patted a spot next to him, motioning for Anaise to take a seat too. Their legs dangled over the edge, the water's current creating a tranquil ambience. "Do you always come out to fish?" she asked, looking out on to the dark water.

"Not always, but I try to make it out here at least once a week. Fresh produce is important," Raeger set out his line, now playing the waiting game. He lowered his voice a little, so not as to startle any fish, "What about you, Anaise? Do you fish often?"

"I actually don't have a fishing rod just yet, but I used to enjoy fishing as a little girl," she responded, running her long dark hair through her fingers. "I wasn't very good at it, though. I swear, I had the worst luck."

"I don't beleive that, you're probably better than I am," he smiled, leaning back a little as he relaxed. "I try to catch big fish, but I always get the little guys."

The former silence fell apon them again as he concentrated in reeling in a fish. Or more like an empty can. Raeger frowned and Anaise couldn't help but giggle a little. "Well that's embarrasing," he grumbled, tossing it behind him.

"Well hey, look at the bright side! At least you're cleaning up the lake!" Anaise shot him a bright smile, causing his to return.

"I guess you're right," he threw another line into the water and waited for more fish. Or at least one fish.

A half hour or so passed and Raeger had managed to collect a decent amount of fish in his container. The two of them set back on the path back to the town, with the cook finally feeling more awake. "So what are you going to do after this?" he asked.

Anaise smiled nervously, "Well, I was hoping to get some breakfast at your place." Her hunger has only been growing as time passed, and she was hoping Raeger would be able to fix her up something yummy.

"Oh, don't you know?" Raeger looked puzzled. "The restaurant is closed on Wednesday."

She froze. "But... isn't today Tuesday?"

He shook his head.

"Oh geez, I've made such a big fool out of myself." She put her face in her hands, feeling embarassed once more.

"Hey, don't say that," Reager smiled, facing her. "I'd be happy to make you something."

"But it's your day off, I can't possibly make you do that," she shook her head, but Raeger wouldn't listen. "Nonsense. I'd be happy to cook for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"


End file.
